Tag Archives: edits

This blog isn’t about vampires. *grins* I confess I’m not a huge fan of vampires. There are a few who call to me, but mostly I find the idea of being immortal rather sad.

(I should also confess that I’m watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and drinking wine while writing this blog post. As Colonel Sheppard would say “Operation This Will Most Likely End Badly is a go.”)

Anyhow, I started working on a new/old project this week. It’s an old project because I wrote a whole novel with these characters, but then had a better idea for them. A far better idea and so I balked at epublishing the novel in hand and instead put it on a shelf where it has sat for several years gathering dust and occasionally whispering in my ear.

Some people might wonder why I turned down an epub offer. I could have probably started a pretty good career writing erotica. It didn’t have anything to do with not liking epublishing, or not wanting to write erotica (though it’s easy to admit that while I enjoy writing it on occasion, it’s not my first love) It was purely because the story, as much as I loved it, wasn’t right. Which means revamping the story, the characters, and everything in between is the only way for me to go. The only thing of the original that will hold through is the essence of the plot and the names of a number of characters.

Revamping the characters will be the hardest. Because I’m ripping them up and redoing them. I have to forget their original reactions, behaviors, and characteristics and forge a new path. Holding onto the original version will only cause confusion and slow down the plot.

Writers do this every day on big and small levels. Writing takes work, and the work isn’t about writing the story in the first place. It’s what happens after – when you rip down your carefully constructed story and make it better. This happens before you send it out on query (or it should!), it happens when your agent gets a hold of it and thinks your plot got soft around the middle of the novel. It happens when your editor sends you revision notes. The very essence of writing is about revamping and recreating this idea in your head.

If you want to be a writer – a for reals, serious writer – *grins* you have to be prepared for this reality. Writing is work, work that never stops. Luckily, I think this is the fun part and I can’t wait to start rebuilding my world again to see what happens!